Ghormeh Sabzi | My long overdue introduction to Persian cookery
- Andrew
- Oct 1, 2024
- 5 min read
Much of the food we've made so far has been familiar and mostly a different take on flavors or dishes I already know. When our friends Amir and Heidi sent us the request to make Ghormeh Sabzi I didn't really think anything of it except that I had never heard of it and that it would be a challenge most likely. I was mostly right. Along with this very common Persian dish, which I would later learn has a different variation on the recipe for every household - each the world's best, we were told to make another dish to accompany it - Tahdig.
I was gifted a book by Amir called Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian several months ago before we started the blog. We had been talking about the dinners we had been making and, as people who love to cook tend to do, we started talking about food culture and how it differs and how it's similar around the world. This is one of my favorite topics mostly because food is a universal language. And to understand a culture's food, is to also get closer to understanding it's people. So, Tahdig. Translated it means bottom of the pot just like the book. I pulled out the book, and staring at me, on the cover is a beautiful picture of Tahdig. I flipped to the namesake recipe and started my initial research. It's a rice dish which I immediately compared to Spanish Paella as both are made primarily with rice and, if made correctly have a beautiful crust which forms on the bottom. The two dishes are most definitely not the same, but I would eventually learn that while doing my research.
Tahdig is made with basmati rice, a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which is traditionally grown in the Indian subcontinent, mainly India, and Pakistan. Typically, the only other ingredients which I would learn are water, salt, clarified butter or ghee, olive oil and optionally saffron. To me, because of the recipes I'm used to developing or reproducing, this recipe for Tahdig was deceptively simple at first review. I won't belabor the point here; I had to make this dish three times before making something I'd be ok with serving to anyone. Luckily, I bought a three pound bag of basmati rice ahead of time, only because that was the only option at the grocery store where I was buying the supplies for the dish. I ended up using so much that I would have needed to buy more rice if I failed for a third time. The dish, albeit straight forward, is rife with subtle technique requiring intuition and some experience making this exact dish. This would be a time where I would have loved Amir or Heidi to be with me, saving me from what now I know are easy mistakes. After burning the first batch, I knew where I went wrong, and still burned my second pot of rice, but not as badly that time. I had enough rice to make one more batch, which luckily succeeded the following day when I made the main dish, Ghormeh Sabzi.
How many bunches of herbs?!
Ghormeh Sabzi means either herb stew or gourmet herbs according to Amir and Heidi. The full name, Khoresh Ghormeh Sabzi is so popular in Iranian culture, that the author of the book I was referencing says it could be the national dish. Apparently every family has their own recipe, which like other cultures is passed down through generations. Heidi's father-in-law, Ebrahim aurally passed to her his recipe which has significant differences from the recipes I looked up. One main difference is that many versions include limoo Omani also known as black limes. They are dried limes which have lost their water content. Ebrahim prefers the juice of two lemons for the acidity and sourness, added at the end. Beans are another flexible component. The consensus was to add either black-eye peas or Kidney beans. Our recipe called for one can of Kidney beans, which I think aesthetically is a good call since it contrasts well with the green from all the herbs. Did I say that this dish has a metric ton of herbs? You aren't ready for this. This recipe and all others I read about include variations, but still the same volume of herbs including:
3 bunches of parsley
3 bunches of cilantro
2 bunches of green onions
2 bunches of spinach
1/4 ounce dried fenugreek leaves
There was a time when I was making a lot of soups and always wondered why I never saw a super herb heavy soup like, parsley soup. Well, life is funny sometimes and when the time came, I was still shocked at the amount of herbs I was including in this stew. You should have seen me at the checkout with a mountain of greenery.
Before food processing all of my herbs, I needed to braise some cubed beef chuck with sweated onions and garlic, seasoned with salt and turmeric. And after about an hour the herbs, drained kidney beans, lemon juice and the only ingredient I had a hard time sourcing, dried fenugreek leaves, were added. If you ever tackle recipes which require specialty ingredients, you know immediately that you're not going to some things at your local Kroger. I ended up ordering the fenugreek leaves online and enough arrived the next day to last me at least several more attempts at this.
The dish is beautiful, and worthy of it's reputation. I definitely can understand why families are so proud of making it their own and passing it down to future generations.
I was going to mention in our accompanying video, but ran out of time: According to Medical Health Authority, fenugreek contains a compound called sotolone, which is responsible for its distinct aroma. When consumed or applied topically, sotolone is released through sweat, leading to the characteristic fenugreek smell. The duration of the fenugreek smell can vary from person to person. It usually fades within a few hours to a day, depending on factors like the amount of fenugreek consumed and individual body chemistry. It isn't bad, but it's a real thing, so be warned.
The dish is beautiful and worthy of its reputation. I definitely understand why families are so proud of making it their own and passing it down to future generations. Besides the large amount of herbs, nothing in this recipe and its technique is really all that different from a lot of the Western food I mostly make. Anyone can easily make most of the recipes I came across, and if for no other reason than to cook a recipe given to you by a close friend, you should get out of your comfort zone. You'll be happy you did.
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